A small islet spells big trouble for fishermen

Chennai

With the end of the 45day ban on fishing on Indian seas, fishermen particularly from Ramanathapuram district have as usual, headed for Katchatheevu, an uninhabited islet in the narrow Palk Strait, have been caught by the navy and their boats impounded, leaving to a howl of protest.

The Ramanathapuram fishermen having depleted the fish stock on the Indian side of the sea, cross the boundary and head particularly for Katchatheevu  as it is rich in prawns.

Routinely, the Sri Lankan Navy arrest them when they transgress the boundary and the fishermen routinely claim they have been caught on the Indian side of the waters even if they go as far as Jaffna shores. And Tamil Nadu politicians routinely back their claim for their votes.

On the day the ban was lifted, a group of fishermen were caught by the Sri Lanka Navy and their boats seized. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention, claiming that it is a disputed islet and Indian fishermen have traditional fishing rights a claim disputed by Sri Lanka ever since it was ceded to it under the 1974 bilateral agreement .

Jayalalithaa, contends that the matter is sub judice as she has taken the issue to the Supreme Court in 2008 and later impleaded the Tamil Nadu Government as a party after she returned to power in 2011.

The  island was historically part of the Ramnad Raja’s zamindari, and later it became part of the Madras Presidency.  

Ownership of the island was controversial even during British rule when the island was administered by both countries though Ceylon in 1924 staked claim.

In 1974, then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ceded control of Kachativu to  Sri Lanka to foster good relations. Indira Gandhi  brushed Katchatheevu off as having no strategic importance.

Following protests in Tamil Nadu primarily on the ground that ceding the islet to Sri Lanka would deprive the livelihood of Indian fishermen, another agreement was signed in 1976 which offered protection limited to our fishermen drying their nets in the islet and visiting annual festival held by the Catholic shrine of St Anthony Church.

The India-Sri Lanka agreement of 1987 allows Indian fishermen to fish around Katchatheevu and to dry their nets on the island. The key point they can go upto the Tivu but should not cross the boundary. This is a grey area which often leads to skirmishes between our fishermen and the Sri Lankan navy.

In 2009, the Tamil Nadu Government declared that the area is controlled by Sri Lanka against the original pact of allowing Indian fishermen to access the water of Sri Lanka In 2009. Sri Lanka has brushed aside Tamil Nadu’s official position as it concerns a matter between two countries in which a State cannot have a decisive claim.

In 2010 the Sri Lankan government issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu government saying the Indian court cannot nullify the 1974 agreement.

To bolster Tamil Nadu’s claim, Jayalalithaa as AIADMK General Secretary  in 2008 challenged the ceding of the islet to Sri Lanka. Her main contention that Katchatheevu was part of India and it had been ceded to Sri Lanka without the concurrence of Parliament as had happened when Beru Bari inWest Bengal was given away to Bangladesh. After her return to power in 2011, Jayalalithaa has impleaded the Tamil Nadu Government’s revenue department in the case.

No less a person than former diplomat G Parthasarathi has said that 1974 agreement cannot be rescinded. He has said, “Beliefs that India can rescind the 1974 and 1976 agreements appear to be misplaced.

“The proposed transfer of Beru Bari to Bangladesh involved a transfer of what was clearly Indian territory. The demarcation of the maritime boundary, under which India acknowledged Sri Lankan sovereignty over Katchatheevu, was, however, based on the internationally recognised principle of the median line and in consonance with Article 15 of the Law of the Seas”.

We, including the media, have looked only at one side of the problem. We never considered the Sri Lankan fishermen. They too are Tamil fishermen living in the northern province.

Since the ethnic conflict reached the flash point in 1983 till ended in 2009 with the death of LTTE leader V Praha- karan, theirs had been a troubled existence. They were not allowed to go into the deep sea. Their fishing time was severely curtailed by curfews and the area of fishing also narrowed.

The ceding of the islet to Sri Lanka has affected the most only the fishermen from Ramanathapuram. Those from Nagapattinam, Pattukottai, Jagathapattinam and Vedarananyam Pudukottai are unaffected as they have access to the high seas.

Even during the height of the ethnic conflict, the LTTE used the Tamil Nadu seas only for smuggling of fuel and medicines and not for arms and explosives. It used its own ships to bring them to the international waters off the Indian coast and make highseas transfer to its own small boats. These outboard- fitted  boats could reach Jaffna from Vedaranyam in 18 minutes flat. It enlisted the Tamil Nadu fishermen only for logistical support where needed. During their troubled times, Tamil Nadu fishermen had unhindered access to the Palk Strait as the Sri Lanka was not in total control of the seas off its coast thanks to the dominating presence of the LTTE’s  naval wing.

Of course, the Tamil Nadu fishermen ventured into the troubled waters at great risk as any boat found in the region was liable to be fired upon by the Sri Lankan Navy as LTTE vessels or acting on its behalf. It was thus that during the 25 years of the civil war, nearly 800 Tamil Nadu fishermen were killed.

It was only in 2002, when the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE entered into a ceasefire agreement, an agreement that lasted three years, that the Tamil fishermen in the Tiger controlled areas had relative peace.    

Retrieval of Katchatheevu by India is a pipe dream. Even during the height of the war in 2009 when elections to the Parliament were held and there were virulent campaign for intervention, New Delhi acted on India’s geo-political interests, not swayed by passions in Tamil Nadu.

Yes, Karunanidhi was Chief Minister when Indira Gandhi ceded the islet to Sri Lanka. It is politically convenient for Jayalalitha to brand him as a traitor.  From the ramparts of the Fort St George she swore that she would retrieve the Katchatheevu. We are now in 2016. The only forward movement, if it can be called that, is a petition in the Supreme Court which has been pending for the past eight years.

The only way out is for the two fishermen to work out a solution. After the war ended, the Tamil Nadu fishermen became brazen enough to go right upto the Jaffna shore. If some 600 boats fish in Sri Lankan waters, won’t it deprive the livelihood of our brethren?

Worse, despite repeated requests not to do bottom trawling that depletes the fish stock and damages the nets of the Jaffna fishermen, the Tamil Nadu fishermen are unrelenting.

Two rounds of talks between the fishermen of the two countries have broken down on this issue. If Tamil Nadu politicians stay off the issue, like they should do in the Cauvery dispute, and let the affected fishermen or farmers to sort out the problem among themselves, a way forward can be found.

The writer is an expert on  Sri Lanka